WEARABLE DEVICE AND METHOD FOR REMOTE OPTICAL MONITORING OF INTRAOCULAR PRESSURE -

Abstract

A system and method are described for determining intraocular pressure (IOP) of an eye using a contact lens with a magnet placed on the cornea of ​​the eye. A magnetic field is applied to the magnet in the contact lens, and the magnet is displaced by the magnetic field. The system of the present disclosure determines corneal distortion based on the magnetic displacement of the magnet, thereby determining the IOP of the eye. In one embodiment, the system has a base and an arm extending from the base. A motor is attached to the arm and vibrates or moves the arm. A magnet is engaged with the distal end of the arm, and the magnet generates a controlled magnetic field. A Hall sensor is attached to the distal end of the magnet. The magnet generates a directional magnetic field, and the Hall sensor reads the magnetic field and any perturbations caused by the magnet in the contact lens.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] (CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS) This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62 / 966,798 (Attorney Docket No. 48675-709.101), filed January 28, 2020, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

[0002] FIELD OF THEINVENTION The present disclosure relates to the technical field of remote optical mechanosensing, and more particularly to wearable sensor systems for measuring intraocular pressure. [Background technology]

[0003] BACKGROUND OF THEINVENTION The present disclosure is in the field of optomechanics, and more particularly, in the field of intraocular pressure sensing using remote optical measurement of corneal indentation caused by magnetic forces applied to micro-magnets embedded in or on a contact lens.

[0004] Glaucoma is the second most common cause of blindness worldwide. It is a multifactorial disease with several risk factors, of which intraocular pressure (IOP) is the most important. IOP measurements are used for glaucoma diagnosis and patient monitoring. IOP has a wide diurnal variation and is dependent on body posture, therefore occasional measurements made by eye care professionals in clinics can be misleading. Summary of the Invention [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] (overview) The present disclosure describes a wearable optical device and reading method for measuring intraocular pressure in an eye.

[0006] In an embodiment, there may be a contact lens device for measuring intraocular pressure of an eye. The device has a body formed from an elastomeric material and at least one magnet embedded in or disposed on the body. In some embodiments, the elastomeric material may be biocompatible. In some embodiments, the material may be transparent.

[0007] In an embodiment, there may be an apparatus for reading a contact lens with an internal magnet. The apparatus has an excitation coil with a driver in electrical communication with the excitation coil. The driver may control parameters of the coil. A light source may illuminate the contact lens and an optical sensor may detect reflected light of the light source. A controller may synchronize the coil excitation with the sensor image or data collection. The controller may further have a receiver for receiving external data.

[0008] In another embodiment, there is a method of determining an IOP reading using a device for reading contact lenses with built-in magnets. The method provides for exciting an excitation coil with an electrical pulse, recording images for a predetermined period of time, determining a corneal reshape based on one or more corneal topography images, and calculating an IOP reading using the corneal reshape.

[0009] In another embodiment, there may be a system for determining an IOP reading, the system having a base and an arm extending from the base. A motor may be attached to the arm and may vibrate or move the arm. A magnet may be engaged to a distal end of the arm and the magnet may generate a controlled magnetic field. A Hall sensor may be attached to the distal end of the magnet. The magnet may generate a directional magnetic field and the Hall sensor may read the magnetic field and any perturbations caused by the magnet in the contact lens.

[0010] The device may include a contact lens with a built-in magnet. A magnetic field may be used to apply a force on the cornea. The change in the corneal topography depends on the applied magnetic force as well as the corneal parameters and IOP. The external measurement arrangement, which may be installed on the goggles, may include any one or more of a patterned illuminator and an optical detector, such as a camera or a quadrature photodiode. The change in the corneal topography caused by the application of a time-varying magnetic field to the contact lens may be detected using a quadrature photodetector or by analyzing the image of a matrix of point illuminators. The mechanical response of the cornea may be measured using different magnetic excitation amplitudes, pulse shapes, or waveform frequencies, and the frequency response of the cornea may be measured remotely. The indentation depth and resonant frequency change of the cornea may be calculated using the collected data, and the IOP may be determined. The method includes a preliminary characterization of the corneal thickness and topography, and the radius of curvature and corneal thickness may be measured at known IOP values ​​obtained by conventional ophthalmological methods. The personalized data set may then be used as input to a data processing algorithm that also uses continuous imaging measurements from the goggles to calculate IOP. The data may be connected to the cloud, and the goggles may also be equipped with a mist generator that can dispense controlled amounts of medication that can help reduce IOP. This disclosure describes contact lenses and wearable optical devices that measure IOP through optical data acquisition using magnetic excitation of the contact lens. Magnetic excitation of the contact lens can cause deformation of the underlying cornea. One or more light sources may measure the response to the magnetic excitation along with a camera and use this data along with reference data for a particular individual to accurately determine IOP. The present invention provides, for example, the following items. (Item 1) 1. A contact lens device for measuring intraocular pressure in an eye, comprising: a body formed from an elastomeric material; at least one magnet embedded within or disposed on said body; 16. A device comprising: (Item 2) 1. An apparatus for reading contact lenses with built-in magnets, comprising: An excitation coil; a driver in electrical communication with the excitation coil for controlling parameters of the excitation coil; a light source positioned to illuminate the contact lens, the illumination of the contact lens producing a reflection of light or a refraction of light; an optical sensor that detects the reflected or refracted light from the contact lens; a controller for synchronizing the excitation of the coil and the sensor data collection, the controller further comprising a receiver for receiving information from a first external source; An apparatus comprising: (Item 3) 3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the light source is a laser. (Item 4) 3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the optical sensor is a camera. (Item 5) Item 3. The apparatus of item 2, further comprising an amplifier and a digitizer. (Item 6) 3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the excitation coil is a magnetic excitation coil. (Item 7) 3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the controller further processes one or more of a composite magnetic excitation, optical sensor data collection, program instructions received from the external source, and data received from the external source. (Item 8) 1. A method of determining an IOP reading using a device for reading contact lenses with an embedded magnet, the device having a controller, the method comprising: exciting an excitation coil with a current pulse; Recording images for a predefined period of time; determining corneal deformation based on the one or more corneal topography images; calculating the IOP reading using the corneal reshape; A method comprising: (Item 9) 9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the excitation of the coil is performed using a periodic current pulse train with at least one frequency. (Item 10) 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the corneal topography image further comprises distortion of an image produced by a light source at one or more frequencies. (Item 11) 9. The method of claim 8, wherein determining the corneal deformation further comprises generating a frequency response curve based on a plurality of corneal deformation images taken at a plurality of frequencies. (Item 12) 9. The method of claim 8, wherein calculating the IOP reading further comprises using a calculation algorithm to return a data set of corneal frequency responses. (Item 13) 9. The method of claim 8, wherein determining the corneal deformation further comprises measuring the amplitude of the signal at the output of the position sensitive photodetector at each frequency. (Item 14) 9. The method of claim 8, wherein determining the corneal deformation further comprises measuring the amplitude of the signal in the output coil at each frequency. (Item 15) 9. The method of claim 8, further comprising generating a frequency response curve for the cornea. (Item 16) 9. The method of claim 8, further comprising converting the time domain response to a frequency domain response using a Fourier transform. (Item 17) 17. The method of claim 16, further comprising calculating a deformation of the corneal topography from the signal amplitude at each frequency of the Fourier transform. (Item 18) 1. A system for determining an IOP reading, comprising: A base and an arm having a proximal end and a distal end, the proximal end mechanically engaging the base; a motor attached to the arm, the motor being capable of imparting motion to the arm; a magnet mechanically engaged to the distal end of the arm, the magnet being capable of producing a controlled magnetic field, the magnet having a proximal end mechanically engaged to the arm and a distal end; a Hall sensor fixedly attached to the distal end of the magnet; wherein the magnet generates a directional magnetic field, the Hall sensor reads the magnetic field produced by the magnet, and at least one contact lens is associated with a magnet, and the contact lens with the magnet is within the directional magnetic field. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates a cross section of a contact lens with an embedded magnet according to one embodiment.

[0012] [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 illustrates a side view of a measurement system and a contact lens according to an embodiment.

[0013] [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 illustrates a side view of the application of a magnetic field to a contact lens with a magnet according to an embodiment.

[0014] [Figure 4] FIG. 4 illustrates a graph showing the change in cross-sectional corneal topography with and without an applied magnetic field in accordance with one embodiment.

[0015] [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 illustrates a side view of a measurement system and a contact lens with an integrated magnet, according to one embodiment.

[0016] [Figure 6] FIG. 6 illustrates a side view of a measurement system and a contact lens with an integrated magnet, according to one embodiment.

[0017] [Figure 7] FIG. 7 illustrates an excitation and optical measurement arrangement built into the goggles according to one embodiment.

[0018] [Figure 8] FIG. 8 illustrates a magnetic excitation and optical measurement arrangement incorporated within the goggles according to one embodiment.

[0019] [Figure 9] FIG. 9 illustrates the application of a magnetic field waveform to a contact lens according to one embodiment.

[0020] [Figure 10] FIG. 10 illustrates the application of a periodic pulse train magnetic field waveform applied to a contact lens according to one embodiment.

[0021] [Figure 11] FIG. 11 illustrates the application of a periodic pulse train magnetic field waveform applied to a contact lens and the change in output of a position sensing photodiode according to one embodiment.

[0022] [Figure 12] FIG. 12 illustrates the application of a single pulse magnetic field waveform to a contact lens according to one embodiment.

[0023] [Figure 13] FIG. 13 illustrates a side view of a measurement system and contact lens according to an embodiment.

[0024] [Figure 14] FIG. 14 illustrates an inductive measurement system integrated into goggles according to one embodiment.

[0025] [Figure 15] FIG. 15 illustrates a side view of a measurement system according to an embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0026] (Detailed Description) Described herein is an optical wearable imaging sensor, where a user can look outside through the device and go about their day's routine while the optical wearable imaging sensor monitors intraocular pressure (IOP). In an embodiment, the device uses previously measured properties of the individual's cornea and the user's anatomical parameters along with measurements provided by a measurement device. The operation of the system generally assumes that the corneal topography responds to externally applied forces in a manner that depends on the IOP and other corneal parameters such as corneal thickness.

[0027] Operation of the device may rely on magnetic actuation of the cornea through a contact lens, which may have a small magnet embedded within the contact lens. The device may measure displacement optically or electronically as a function of one or more applied force(s) in amplitude or frequency.

[0028] The device may include a substance applicator, which may apply medication to control IOP based on measurements made by the device.

[0029] Referring now to FIG. 1, a contact lens 1 is illustrated with an embedded millimeter or micrometer sized magnet 2. The magnet 2 may be shaped like a disk, a bar, or may have a complex shape. The shape may be a regular polygon or an irregular polygon. The magnet may have an opening or a slot through it, so that it may present an interstitial space. The magnet may be positioned in or on the contact lens in a manner that does not interfere with a person's normal vision. In some embodiments, the magnet may be shaped like a ring, so that the person's vision may be through the opening. In some embodiments, one or more magnets may be used to provide different shaped magnetic patterns in the contact lens. In some embodiments, a second or several additional magnets may be positioned in different locations in or on the contact lens to create more than one displacement effect in the contact lens when a magnetic field may be applied to the magnet of the contact lens. In some embodiments, there may be more than one magnetic field applied to one or more of the magnets of the contact lens.

[0030] In another embodiment, as shown in Figure 2, a contact lens 1 may be placed on the cornea 3. A magnetic excitation coil 4 may be placed in close proximity to the contact lens. The magnetic excitation coil 4 may be controlled by a driver 100 using a computer controlled waveform generator and power amplifier. One or more light sources 5 may be used to illuminate the contact lens 2 on the eye 1000, and one or more cameras 6 may be used to capture an image thereof.

[0031] In another embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, a contact lens 1 may be placed on the cornea 3. A magnetic excitation coil 4 may be placed in close proximity to the contact lens and controlled by a driver 100. A computer-controlled waveform generator and power amplifier may be used to control the magnetic excitation coil 4. One or more spotlights 5 and one or more cameras 6 may be used to illuminate the contact lens on the eye and take an image of it. The coil 4 may be activated to generate a magnetic field 200, which may induce a force on a magnet on or within the contact lens 1, causing indentation 300 of the cornea 3. The camera 6 may sense changes in the corneal topography and measure the indentation 300. The generation of the magnetic field 200 and the orientation of the magnet 2 may be predetermined such that the field 200 may cause repulsion of the magnet 2. In some embodiments, the magnetic field 200 may attract the magnet 2, which may provide measurements of the contact lens, the cornea, or other aspects of the eye.

[0032] In an embodiment, a graph illustrating a cross section of the corneal topography can be seen for IOP values ​​of 7.5 mmHg, 15 mmHg, and 30 mmHg (FIG. 4). The graph illustrates corneal indentation with and without magnetic force, where the radius of indentation and the corneal apex position are altered differently by magnetic force due to the difference in IOP values. In some embodiments, negative micron values ​​(Y-axis) represent the indentation of the cornea when the magnet of the contact lens can be repelled by the magnetic field. For low IOP values, a similar magnetic force may induce a wider and smoother indentation. Alternatively, for high IOP values, the indentation may be less pronounced and may occur within a smaller radius. This difference may be used to determine the IOP value through optical or electronic measurements of the change in the corneal topography. Higher IOP values ​​may cause the cornea to have a larger inherent distortion and a higher resistance to indentation by magnetic force. In some embodiments, higher IOP values ​​may result in a smaller but more pronounced indentation compared to lower IOP values. The exact value of the width of the indentation area and the depth of the indentation may also depend on the corneal thickness. The relationship between the indentation shape and the depth can be determined through simulation, which may be based on measurements of the corneal thickness.

[0033] In an embodiment, a contact lens 1 may be placed on the cornea 3. As shown in FIG. 5, a magnetic excitation coil 4 may be placed in close proximity to the contact lens. The coil may be controlled by a driver 100 having a computer-controlled waveform generator and a power amplifier. A laser may serve as a light source 500 to illuminate the contact lens, and a camera 6 may be used for image capture. The cornea 3 may be indented by a magnetic field from the coil, and changes in the light reflection pattern before and after application of the magnetic field may be recorded by the camera 6. Analysis of the changes in the reflection pattern may be used to extract indentation width and depth information, which may be used to determine the IOP value.

[0034] In another embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, when the contact lens 1 may be placed on the cornea 3, a magnetic excitation coil 4 may be placed in close proximity to the contact lens. The coil may be controlled by a driver 100 using a computer controlled waveform generator and power amplifier, a collimated laser source 500, and a position sensitive photodetector 700 that may measure the deflection of the reflected laser beam 600. The cornea 3 may be indented by the force exerted against the magnet of the lens 1 by the magnetic field from the coil 4, and the change in the reflected beam position is sensed through the position sensitive detector 700. Analysis of the change in the reflection of the beam may be used to extract the indentation strength, which may be related to the IOP value.

[0035] The integration of the measurement arrangement into the goggles is shown in Figure 7. In an embodiment, the light source 5, camera 6, and excitation coil 4 may be mounted on the goggles 10000 along with the electronic controller 20 and power supply / battery pack 30. In some embodiments, the goggles may also have a drug delivery device.

[0036] In another embodiment, the goggles may incorporate a laser source 500, a position sensitive optical detector 700, an excitation coil 4 and electronic controller 20, and a power supply / battery pack 30, as shown in FIG.

[0037] Now referring to FIG. 9, an exemplary measurement of magnetic indentation is shown. When a magnetic field pulse 6000 may be applied to the contact lens through an excitation coil, a camera may record one or more images 5000 of the reflected light from the light source. The light source may be structured and may have bright spots positioned in the form of a two-dimensional array or matrix. The light reflected from the cornea may then appear as a matrix. When the contact lens and cornea are indented by a magnetic force, a distorted image 5100 of the matrix may be observed. The spot positions may result from the corneal apex change from the reference image 5000. After the pulse 6000 is terminated, the spots in the image may return to their original positions. By analyzing the difference in the spot positions, the indentation profile may be determined and the IOP may be calculated. In general, the displacement of the spots due to the applied magnetic field depends on several parameters of the cornea, such as thickness, radius, etc., as well as the imaging configuration (i.e., the location of the illumination spot and the camera location and focus properties). Ray tracing simulation may be used along with mechanical finite element analysis of corneal indentation to estimate the displacement of the spot in the observed image.

[0038] Referring now to FIG. 10, an exemplary measurement of magnetic force indentation using a periodic magnetic excitation waveform is shown. In an embodiment, a periodic magnetic field pulse train 7000 may be applied to the contact lens through an excitation coil. The camera may record one or more images 5000 of the reflection of one or more light sources from the cornea, and the one or more images 5000 may appear as a matrix. Upon indentation with a periodic magnetic force at a given frequency, a distorted image 5200 may be observed. The spot positions and their shapes may be derived from the corneal apex change from the reference image 5000. In some embodiments, a rapidly changing corneal topography may cause changes in the spot shapes in the image 5200 due to the slow response of the camera 6. In some embodiments, a slow response of the camera may be intended. After the pulse 7000 is terminated, the spots in the image may return to their original positions. By analyzing the difference in the spot positions and their shapes, the indentation profile at the applied frequency may be inferred. In general, the displacement of the spot due to the applied magnetic field may depend on multiple parameters of the cornea, such as thickness, radius, etc., as well as the imaging configuration (i.e., the position of the illumination spot and the camera location and focal properties). Ray tracing simulations may be used along with mechanical finite element analysis of the corneal indentation to estimate the displacement of the spot in the observed image. Furthermore, for dynamic measurements, the time-dependent amplitude of the corneal motion may be calculated by a finite element model of the eye. By applying a sequence of frequencies and repeating the measurements, a frequency response plot may be generated for the cornea. The IOP may be calculated using the frequency plot along with a predefined look-up table. The generation of the look-up table may use experimental and computational research that links corneal anatomical parameters to IOP values. In some embodiments, the frequency-dependent measurements may allow the amplitude information to be a relative measurement rather than an absolute measurement, and the IOP value may be determined based on the measurement of the resonant frequency rather than further detailed analysis as in the case of absolute deflection measurements.

[0039] In an embodiment, a graph showing the coil magnetic field versus time is compared to a quadrature photodiode output versus time graph, as seen in FIG. 11. According to an embodiment, a periodic magnetic field pulse train 7000 with a known period 7100 may be applied to the contact lens through an excitation coil. A position-sensitive photodetector may measure the reflected laser beam deflection, resulting in a single voltage signal from the detector, and may not require a complete image capture. Upon indentation with a periodic magnetic force at a given frequency, an exponentially rising signal 8100 may be observed when the pulse train 7000 begins to excite the contact lens. When the pulse train 7000 stops, the mechanical motion may decay rapidly, resulting in an exponentially decaying signal 8200. By analyzing the output signals 8000, 8100, 8200 during different phases of the excitation pulse waveform, the mechanical response at the applied frequency may be inferred. By applying a sequence of frequencies and repeating the measurements, a frequency response plot may be generated for the cornea. Using the frequency plot in conjunction with a predefined lookup table, the IOP can be calculated.

[0040] In another embodiment, a measurement of magnetic force indentation using a single broadband magnetic excitation waveform can be seen in FIG. 12. The broadband magnetic excitation waveform can be measured by using a laser beam and a position-sensitive photodetector. A single short magnetic field pulse 6000 with a duration that can be shorter than the typical period of the corneal resonance frequency can be applied to the contact lens through an excitation coil. The position-sensitive photodetector can measure the reflected laser beam deflection. During indentation with a short pulse magnetic force, a wide frequency range can be excited simultaneously. When the pulse train 6000 excites the magnet of the contact lens, an exponentially rising and decaying signal 8200 can be observed. When the pulse 6000 stops, the mechanical motion can decay, resulting in an exponentially decaying ring-down signal 8200. By analyzing the output signals 8000, 8200 using time series acquisition and Fourier analysis during different phases of the excitation pulse waveform, the mechanical response at all frequencies within the excitation band can be determined. By applying a sequence of pulses and repeating the measurements, the signal to noise ratio can be improved and a frequency response plot can be generated for the cornea. The frequency plot can be used in conjunction with a predefined look-up table to calculate the IOP. The generation of the look-up table can involve a survey that can link corneal anatomical parameters to IOP values.

[0041] In some embodiments, the motion may be detected through magnetic induction in a read coil. In some aspects, a single coil may be used for both excitation and pick-up. Alternatively, multiple coils may be used for excitation and pick-up. According to some embodiments, the motion of the magnet may induce a current in the pick-up coil 777, and an electronic amplifier 888 may produce a signal that may be proportional to the displacement of the magnet 2 in the contact lens 1. In some embodiments, this reading method may eliminate the need for optical components. The time-dependent signal produced by the inductive pick-up method may be proportional to the instantaneous velocity of the magnet during oscillation.

[0042] According to yet another embodiment, the electronic reading of the corneal movement may be integrated into a pair of goggles, as shown in FIG. 14. In an embodiment, the pickup coil 777 and the excitation coil 4 illustrated in FIG. 14 may be generally mounted on the front of the goggles 10000 in a manner that is acceptable to vision. The driving electronics and electronic amplifier 888, and the microcontroller 20 that processes the signals may be integrated and mounted on the goggles. The system may be powered by an external power source or by a battery pack 30 mounted on the goggles 10000. In some embodiments, the microcontroller 20 may be a chip, processor, or computing device programmed with software to read and analyze data from the magnetic field coils, image sensor, and any other data inputs, and the data may be used to calculate, in whole or in part, the IOP of the eye being measured. The microcontroller may be any electronic device suitable for such purposes, and may include a wired or wireless connection for another computing device, such as a smartphone, tablet computer, laptop, desktop, or cloud computer.

[0043] In an embodiment, there may be a system for measuring electronic readings of corneal movement, as shown in FIG. 15. In an embodiment, a magnetic field gradient from a magnet 123888 may cause corneal movement. The magnet may be a permanent magnet or an electromagnet. The magnet 123888 may be polarized, such that a field emanates from the end and exerts a nonlinear force on one or more magnets 2 in or on the contact lens 1. The magnetic field may cause movement in the contact lens that may correlate with IOP. A Hall sensor 123777 may be mounted on the magnet 123888. If the magnet 123888 and the Hall sensor 123777 move together, the Hall sensor 123777 output may remain constant. In an embodiment, the magnet 2 on the contact lens 1 may be near the Hall sensor 123777, the magnetic field may be perturbed, and a signal change may be detected by the controller 123333. The magnet 123888 and Hall sensor 123777 may be mounted on a moveable arm 123555, which may be vibrated or otherwise moved by a motion source 123444, such as a galvanometer motion element, and the motion may be controlled by a controller 123333. By recording the field in the Hall sensor 123777 with the motion applied to the moveable arm 123555, the displacement of the cornea may be measured indirectly. Such measurements may be analyzed and converted into an IOP reading.

[0044] In an embodiment, there may be a system for determining an IOP reading. The system includes a base, an arm, a motor, a magnet, a Hall sensor, and a controller. In an embodiment, the arm may have a proximal end and a distal end. The proximal end may be mechanically engaged to the base. A motor may be attached to the arm, and the motor may be capable of imparting motion to the arm. A magnet may be mechanically engaged to a distal end of the arm. The magnet may be capable of generating a controlled magnetic field. The magnet may have a proximal end mechanically engaged to the arm, and a distal end. There may be a Hall sensor fixedly attached to the distal end of the magnet. The magnet may generate a directional magnetic field, and the Hall sensor may read the magnetic field generated by the magnet. Variations in the magnetic field caused by a contact lens with the magnet may also be read. The determination of the IOP and control of any electronics may be performed by the controller.

[0045] Advantages of the present disclosure include, but are not limited to, a robust process for measuring corneal responses through remotely excited micro-indentation measurements through the use of a contact lens that houses a magnet and reading optics and / or electronics.

[0046] The subject matter and embodiments of the operations described herein may be implemented in digital electronic circuitry, or in computer software, firmware, or hardware, including structures disclosed herein and their structural equivalents, or a combination of one or more of them. The subject matter described herein may be implemented as one or more computer programs, i.e., as one or more modules of computer program instructions encoded on one or more computer storage media for execution by or to control the operation of a data processing device, such as a processing circuit. A processing circuit, such as a controller or CPU, may comprise any digital and / or analog circuit components configured to perform the functions described herein, such as a microprocessor, a microcontroller, an application specific integrated circuit, programmable logic, etc. Alternatively, or in addition, the program instructions may be encoded on an artificially generated propagated signal (e.g., a machine-generated electrical, optical, or electromagnetic signal), which is generated to encode information for execution by a data processing device, for transmission to a suitable receiver device.

[0047] A computer storage medium may be or be included in a computer readable storage device, a computer readable storage substrate, a random or serial access memory array or device, or a combination of one or more of these. Additionally, while a computer storage medium is not a propagating signal, a computer storage medium may be a source or destination of computer program instructions encoded in an artificially generated propagating signal. A computer storage medium may also be or be included in one or more separate components or media (e.g., multiple CDs, disks, or other storage devices). Thus, a computer storage medium is tangible and non-transitory.

[0048] The operations described herein may be implemented as operations performed by a data processing apparatus on data stored on one or more computer-readable storage devices or data received from other sources. The term "data processing apparatus" or "computing device" encompasses any kind of apparatus, device, and machine for processing data, including, as examples, a programmable processor, a computer, a system on a chip, or a combination or combination of the above. An apparatus may include special purpose logic circuitry, such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). In addition to hardware, an apparatus may also include code that creates an execution environment for the computer program (e.g., code that constitutes a processor firmware, a protocol stack, a database management system, an operating system, a cross-platform runtime environment, a virtual machine, or one or more combinations thereof). The apparatus and execution environment may implement a variety of different computing model infrastructures, such as web services, distributed computing, and grid computing infrastructures.

[0049] A computer program (also known as a program, software, software application, script, or code) may be written in any form of programming language, including compiled or interpreted languages, declarative or procedural languages, and may be deployed in any form (including deployed as a stand-alone program or as a module, component, subroutine, object, or other unit suitable for use in a computing environment). A computer program may, but need not, correspond to a file in a file system. A program may be stored in part of a file that holds other programs or data (e.g., one or more scripts stored in a markup language document), in a single file dedicated to the program, or in multiple associated files (e.g., files that store one or more modules, subprograms, or portions of code). A computer program may be deployed to run on one computer or on multiple computers that are located in one facility or distributed across multiple facilities and interconnected by a communication network.

[0050] The processes and logic flows described herein may be implemented by one or more programmable processors that execute one or more computer programs to perform actions by operating on input data and generating output. The processes and logic flows may also be implemented by, and apparatus may be implemented as, special purpose logic circuitry, e.g., an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or an ASIC (application specific integrated circuit).

[0051] Processors suitable for executing computer programs include, by way of example, both general-purpose and special-purpose microprocessors, and any one or more processors of any kind of digital computer. In general, a processor receives instructions and data from a read-only memory or a random-access memory, or both. The essential elements of a computer are a processor for performing actions according to instructions, and one or more memory devices for storing instructions and data. In general, a computer also includes one or more mass storage devices (e.g., magnetic, magneto-optical, or optical disks) for storing data, or is operatively coupled to receive data from them, transfer data to them, or both. However, a computer need not have such devices. Furthermore, a computer may be embedded within another device (e.g., a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portable audio or video player, a game console, a global positioning system (GPS) receiver, or a portable storage device (e.g., a universal serial bus (USB) flash drive), to name a few). Suitable devices for storing computer program instructions and data include all forms of non-volatile memory, media, and memory devices, including, by way of example, semiconductor memory devices (e.g., EPROM, EEPROM, and flash memory devices), magnetic disks (e.g., internal hard disks or removable disks), magneto-optical disks, and CD ROM and DVD-ROM disks. The processor and memory may be supplemented by, or incorporated in, special purpose logic circuitry.

[0052] To provide for interaction with a user, embodiments of the subject matter described herein may be implemented on a computer having a display device (e.g., a CRT (cathode ray tube display) or LCD (liquid crystal display) monitor, OLED (organic light emitting diode) monitor) or other form of display for displaying information to the user, and a keyboard and / or pointing device (e.g., a mouse or trackball) through which the user may provide input to the computer. Other types of devices may be used to provide for interaction with a user as well. For example, feedback provided to the user may be any form of sensory feedback (e.g., visual feedback, auditory feedback, or tactile feedback), and input from the user may be received in any form, including acoustic, speech, or tactile input. In addition, the computer may interact with the user by sending documents to and receiving documents from a device used by the user (e.g., by sending a web page to a web browser on the user's client device in response to a request received from the web browser).

[0053] Although this specification contains many details of specific embodiments, these should not be construed as limitations on any embodiment or claims, but rather as descriptions of specific features for particular embodiments. Certain features described in the context of separate embodiments can also be implemented in combination within a single embodiment. Conversely, various features described in the context of a single embodiment can also be implemented within multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination. Furthermore, although features may be described above as acting in a combination, and even initially claimed as such, one or more features from the claimed combination can in some cases be separated from the combination, and the claimed combination may be directed to a subcombination or a variation of the subcombination.

[0054] Similarly, although operations are depicted in the figures in a particular order, this should not be construed as requiring such operations to be performed in the particular order or sequential order shown, or that all of the illustrated operations be performed to achieve a desired result. In some situations, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Furthermore, the separation of various system components in the embodiments described above should not be understood as requiring such separation in all embodiments, and it should be understood that the program components and systems described may generally be integrated into a single software product or packaged into multiple software products.

[0055] References to "or" may be construed as inclusive, whereby any term described using "or" may refer to one, more than one, or any of all of the described terms.

[0056] Thus, particular embodiments of the present subject matter have been described. Other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims. In some cases, the actions recited in the claims can be performed in a different order and still achieve desirable results. In addition, the processes depicted in the accompanying figures do not necessarily require the particular order shown, or sequential order, to achieve desirable results. In some embodiments, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous.

[0057] Having described certain embodiments of the methods and systems, it will now become apparent to those skilled in the art that other embodiments incorporating the present concepts may be used. It should be understood that the above-described systems may provide any or more than one of their components, which may be provided on any of a standalone machine, or in some embodiments, on multiple machines in a distributed system. The above-described systems and methods may be implemented as a method, apparatus, or article of manufacture that uses programming and / or engineering techniques to produce software, firmware, hardware, or any combination thereof. Additionally, the above-described systems and methods may be provided as one or more computer-readable programs embodied on or in one or more articles of manufacture. The term "article of manufacture" as used herein is intended to encompass code or logic accessible from or embedded within one or more computer readable devices, firmware, programmable logic, memory devices (e.g., EEPROM, ROM, PROM, RAM, SRAM, etc.), hardware (e.g., integrated circuit chips, field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc.), electronic devices, computer readable non-volatile storage units (e.g., CD-ROMs, floppy disks, hard disk drives, etc.). An article of manufacture may be accessible from a file server that provides access to computer readable programs via network transmission lines, wireless transmission media, signal propagation through space, radio waves, infrared signals, etc. An article of manufacture may be a flash memory card or magnetic tape. An article of manufacture includes hardware logic as well as software or programmable code embedded within a computer readable medium that is executed by a processor.In general, the computer readable programs may be implemented in any programming language, such as LISP, PERL, C, C++, C#, PROLOG, or any byte-code language, such as JAVA. The software programs may be stored on or in one or more articles of manufacture as object code.

Claims

1. 1. A contact lens device for measuring intraocular pressure in an eye, comprising: a body formed from an elastomeric material; at least one magnet embedded within or disposed on said body; wherein the at least one magnet is configured to indent the contact lens device and the cornea of ​​the eye with a predetermined amount of force upon application of a magnetic field, and the intraocular pressure is measured based on a curvature of indentation caused by the at least one magnet applying the predetermined amount of force.

2. An apparatus for reading a contact lens having a body formed from an elastomeric material, the contact lens having an embedded magnet within the body, the apparatus comprising: A magnetic excitation coil; a driver in electrical communication with the magnetic excitation coil for controlling parameters of the magnetic excitation coil; a light source positioned to illuminate the contact lens, the illumination of the contact lens producing a reflection of light or a refraction of light; an optical sensor that detects the reflected or refracted light from the contact lens; a controller for synchronizing excitation of the magnetic excitation coil and sensor data collection, the controller further comprising a receiver for receiving information from a first external source; the embedded magnet is configured to indent the contact lens and the cornea of ​​the eye with a predetermined amount of force upon application of a magnetic field by the magnetic excitation coil, and the controller is configured to determine intraocular pressure based on a curvature of the indentation caused by the embedded magnet applying the predetermined amount of force.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the light source is a laser.

4. The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the optical sensor is a camera.

5. The apparatus of claim 2 further comprising an amplifier and a digitizer.

6. The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the controller further processes one or more of a composite magnetic excitation, optical sensor data collection, program instructions received from the external source, and data received from the external source.

7. A method for determining intraocular pressure (IOP) readings using an apparatus for reading a contact lens having a body formed from an elastomeric material, the contact lens having an embedded magnet within the body, the apparatus having a controller, the method comprising: exciting a magnetic excitation coil with a current pulse, thereby indenting the contact lens and cornea with a predetermined amount of force using the embedded magnet; Recording images for a predefined period of time; determining corneal deformation based on the one or more corneal topography images; calculating the IOP reading using the corneal reshape, the IOP being determined based on a curvature of indentation caused by the embedded magnet applying the predetermined amount of force; A method comprising:

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the excitation of the magnetic excitation coil is performed with a periodic train of current pulses with at least one frequency.

9. The method of claim 7 , wherein the corneal topography image further comprises distortion of an image produced by a light source at one or more frequencies.

10. The method of claim 7 , wherein determining the corneal deformation further comprises generating a frequency response curve based on a plurality of corneal deformation images taken at a plurality of frequencies.

11. The method of claim 7 , wherein calculating the IOP reading further comprises using a calculation algorithm to return a data set of corneal frequency responses.

12. The method of claim 7 , wherein determining the corneal deformation further comprises measuring an amplitude of the signal at an output of a position sensitive photodetector at each frequency.

13. The method of claim 7 , wherein determining the corneal deformation further comprises measuring an amplitude of a signal in an output coil at each frequency.

14. The method of claim 7 , further comprising generating a frequency response curve for the cornea.

15. The method of claim 7 further comprising converting the time domain response to a frequency domain response using a Fourier transform.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising calculating a deformation of the corneal topography from the signal amplitude at each frequency of the Fourier transform.

17. A system for determining intraocular pressure (IOP) readings, comprising: A base and an arm having a proximal end and a distal end, the proximal end mechanically engaging the base; a motor attached to the arm, the motor being capable of imparting motion to the arm; a first magnet mechanically engaged to the distal end of the arm, the first magnet being capable of producing a controlled magnetic field, the first magnet having a proximal end mechanically engaged to the arm and a distal end; a Hall sensor fixedly attached to the distal end of the first magnet, the first magnet generating a directional magnetic field, the Hall sensor reading the magnetic field produced by the first magnet; and 1. A system comprising: at least one contact lens having a body formed from an elastomeric material; and a second magnet embedded within or mounted on the body, the second magnet being within the directional magnetic field, the directional magnetic field being configured to use the second magnet to indent the at least one contact lens with a predetermined amount of force, and the IOP being determined based on a curvature of the indentation caused by the second magnet applying the predetermined amount of force.

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